Richmond Hill jury weighs if Mark Leonard a mastermind or manipulated

SOUTH BEND — Jurors resumed deliberations Tuesday morning in the trial of the lead suspect in the fatal 2012 Richmond Hill explosion.

The six men and six women are left with two contrasting narratives:

One is that Mark Leonard is the manipulative mastermind of a conspiracy to blow up ex-girlfriend Monserrate Shirley's house to collect insurance money. He wanted money, a lot of it. And, in planning the scheme, he knew and understood its fatal consequences.

The other: His ex-girlfriend is, instead, the manipulative one. Shirley is the owner of the house that exploded. She is the one buried in about $300,000 in debt, the one with the financial motive. And Leonard is but a pawn in her scheme to destroy her own house for money.

If the jurors convict Leonard of knowing murder — that he knew there was a high probability that someone would be killed — it will be the judge who will decide whether he receives a life sentence without parole. Leonard waived a sentencing hearing in front of jurors.

Although it's unclear when the jury might finish deliberating, St. Joseph Superior Court Judge John Marnocha said he is willing to keep court in session until 9 p.m. today.

During closing statements Monday in a trial that is now in its sixth week in St. Joseph County, attorneys painted strikingly different pictures of Leonard and Shirley, two of the defendants in the Richmond Hill explosion that killed two people, injured a dozen others and damaged or destroyed more than 80 houses in the subdivision on Indianapolis' Southeastside.

One key question that jurors must answer is whether Leonard understood that blowing up an entire house would result in the deaths of two innocent people. How they answer that question could determine whether Leonard should spend the rest of his life in prison.

The more contentious of the 53 charges that Leonard is facing are the two counts of knowing murder, which is what prosecutors need to secure a sentence of life without parole. His defense team asked that jurors be given the option of convicting him of two lesser charges of reckless homicide.

Marion County Deputy Prosecutor Denise Robinson recounted testimony that Leonard planned and researched the explosion, even asking a former Citizens Energy Group employee about natural gas the night before the blast.

"When you fill a house with natural gas, it'll go 'pop,' " Robinson said, recalling testimony from Arthur Kirkpatrick, who retired from Citizens Energy. "On November 10, 2012, that's what happened. It went 'pop.' And they knew of that probability."

In their closing statements, Robinson and Deputy Prosecutor Mark Hollingsworth recounted evidence presented in the past five weeks, including the removal and replacement of the step-down regulator in the gas manifold in Shirley's home. Hollingsworth said that regulator, which was removed and replaced with a black pipe, is the "smoking gun," "the best physical evidence" that the explosion was intentional.

Hollingsworth recounted testimony from Shirley about the first few weeks of her relationship with Leonard. Shirley testified that Leonard began asking her about her insurance policy shortly after he moved in with her in late 2011.

"This conspiracy that resulted in deaths and destruction ... originated in this defendant's mind a year before it even happened," Hollingsworth said. "More money, more money is what this defendant wanted."

Robinson said all the testimony and the physical evidence presented are enough to convince jurors of Leonard's guilt on all 53 counts.

"After all this testimony, do you believe this happened accidentally? No," Robinson told jurors. "Why is this not a reckless act? You had motive. …You had planning. … You had prior attempts. … You had preparation."

She said Leonard is the person who "makes the conspiracy complete," the person who got all of his co-defendants — his ex-girlfriend; his half brother, Robert Leonard Jr.; his employee Gary Thompson; and his friend Glenn Hults — involved.

Public defender David Shircliff's closing statements focused largely on Shirley, who became the prosecution's key witness after she accepted a plea agreement in January. Shircliff said much of the prosecution's case against Leonard hinges on what Shirley said.

But Shirley, he said, is a "master liar," a "master manipulator."

"It's what she does," Shircliff said.

She was not the hopelessly in love, fearful, reluctant and spineless co-conspirator who only did whatever Leonard told her, Shircliff said. Instead, he said, the trained nurse was smart, educated and in "total control" of her relationship with Leonard.

She pulled strings in the relationship, he said. And she was in debt, with a $220,000 mortgage on her home and $90,000 in credit card debt.

About a year before the explosion, Shirley asked Leonard to live in her home, even though he was on home detention, Shircliff said, noting she could alert police at any time. That gave her control over Leonard, he said. When Leonard became sick in spring 2012, Shirley took care of him to extend her control over him.

"She's pretty slick," Shircliff said.

The defense attorney also argued that confirmation bias guided investigators to the conclusion they made. He argued that the fire department's investigation was clouded by the emotional resonance of the rescue and recovery of the night of the explosion.

"He was totally emotionally invested," Shircliff said of the lead arson investigator, Lt. Mario Garza of the Indianapolis Fire Department.

Shircliff spent some time trying to cast doubt on the testimony of the other key witnesses, Mark Duckworth, once Leonard's longtime friend who became the target of his alleged murder-for-hire scheme, and Robert Smith, the jailhouse informant who arranged for Leonard to talk to an undercover detective posing as a hit man. The defense had unsuccessfully fought for evidence about the hit man scheme to be barred.

Prosecutors say Leonard masterminded a scheme to blow up Shirley's home to collect $300,000 in insurance money. They allege that natural gas was released into Shirley's home at 8349 Fieldfare Way and was ignited with a timing device on a microwave.

To find Leonard guilty of knowing murder, jurors must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew there was a high probability that death would be the result of the arson plot. After Monday's court session, Shircliff said defense attorneys don't believe Leonard is guilty of murder.

"The whole intent was to burn the house," Shircliff said. "Monserrate Shirley is the one who basically connects Mark to anything. ... She can lie and tell the truth in the same breath."

Robinson said Shirley's testimony is credible because it's corroborated with evidence and testimony from other witnesses.

Whether Leonard and his co-defendants meant to kill somebody has been the most contested part of the case, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said.

"Clearly, from Day 1, we all knew these acts were not committed with the specific intent to kill someone or even harm someone," Curry said. "It is not surprising the defense attacked that aspect of the case."

Shirley's next-door neighbors, John Dion and Jennifer Longworth, were killed in the blast. A dozen other people were injured, and more than 80 homes were damaged or destroyed. About 30 had to be demolished.

The victims' families, as well as a few Richmond Hill residents, attended Monday's session. Dion Longworth's father, John Longworth, and Jennifer Longworth's father, Don Buxton, have been in court since the beginning. Each day, Longworth sat in the second row of the courtroom gallery with a yellow notepad on his lap.

"We were all glad Dion did not die alone," Longworth said, thanking first responders who tried to save his son. "Dion has always inspired me since Day 1. The trial is over, but this doesn't change anything for our family."

Dion Longworth burned to death after being trapped in his basement after the second floor of his home collapsed. Jennifer Longworth, who was on the second floor, was killed instantly.

Although Leonard's trial is over, his co-defendants' have not started, Buxton said.

"We have three other trials to get through, but we are making strides," Buxton said. "I can't believe my daughter is dead. I can't believe my wife and sons' lives are turned upside down because of greed."

Bob Leonard is awaiting trial in January in Fort Wayne. Trials for Thompson and Hults have not been scheduled. Shirley will be sentenced in Marion County after she testifies in all of the co-defendants' trials.

Jurors were sent to the jury room to deliberate after the final instructions were read Monday. They were then sequestered in a hotel Monday night.

Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra.